Florida School Toolkit for K-12 Educators to Prevent Suicide

Scott Poland, Ed.D., Director, Suicide and Violence Prevention Office Professor, Nova Southeastern University Fort Lauderdale, Florida Richard Lieberman, Adjunct Faculty, Loyola Marymount University Overview The aftermath of a youth suicide is a sad and challenging time for a school. Postvention is a term coined by Edwin Shneidman, American clinical psychologist, to describe helpful and appropriate acts after a dire event. The term has become synonymous with the challenging aftermath of suicide, as few events are scarier for a school and community than the suicide of young person. The major tasks for suicide postvention are to help your students and fellow faculty to manage the understandable feelings of shock, grief, and confusion. The major focus at this time should be grief resolution and prevention of further suicides. The research literature estimates that, once a suicide happens, the chances of another death by suicide increase dramatically. The following suggestions are intended to guide staff members during this difficult time: • I t is important to be honest with students about the scope of the problem of youth suicide and the key role that everyone (including the students) plays in prevention. • I t is important to balance being truthful and honest without violating the privacy of the suicide victim and his or her family and to take great care not to glorify the student’s actions. • I t is important to have the facts of the incident; be alert to speculation and erroneous information that may be circulating; and assertively, yet kindly, redirect students toward productive, healthy conversation. • C enters for Disease Control and Prevention research has found that the teenagers most susceptible to suicide contagion are those believed to be students who backed out of a suicide pact, students who had a last very negative interaction with the victim, students who now realize they missed warning signs, and students with their own set of childhood adversities or previous suicidal behavior who need not have known the victim. • P otentially high-risk groups include white, Hispanic, Alaska Native/American Indian, African American, and Asian American youth. • L GBTQ students can be at additional risk particularly if they have experienced parental rejection or gender-based bullying. Use your campus Gay-Straight Alliance to promote safety and inclusion. • It is important that students not feel that the suicide victim has been erased and that students be provided an opportunity to talk about the deceased. • N umerous professional associations caution that memorials not be dramatic or permanent. Instead, encourage activities that focus on living memorials, such as funding suicide prevention. • S uicide is always on the minds of numerous high school students. The Florida YRBSS high school survey for 2019 found 7.9 percent of students reported making a suicide attempt in the last 12 months. TOOL 22 ARTICLE: ANSWERING STUDENT SUPPORT QUESTIONS AND PROVIDING SUPPORT 89